Uranium borohydride
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| Uranium borohydride | |
|---|---|
| Image:Uranium borohydride.jpg | |
| Systematic name | Uranium borohydride |
| Other names | xxx, xxx |
| Molecular formula | U(BH4)4 |
| Molar mass | 297.27 g/mol |
| Density | x.xxx g/cm3 |
| Solubility (water) | Decomposes |
| Melting point | xx.x °C |
| Boiling point | xx.x °C |
| CAS number | [xx-xx-xx] |
| Disclaimer and references | |
Uranium borohydride U(BH4)4 is a volatile uranium compound with boron. It is a tetrahedral monomer in its gas phase and has a vapor pressure of 4 millimeters of mercury at 60 °C.
During the Manhattan Project the need arose to find volatile compounds of uranium suitable for use in the diffusion separation of the uranium isotopes. Uranium borohydride is, after uranium hexafluoride, the most volatile compound of uranium known. Uranium hexafluoride presented serious handling difficulties, which required the directors of this effort to seek alternatives. When the synthesis problems had been sufficiently well defined it was decided to see what kinds of other difficulties might arise in the use of a boron compound for uranium separation. Enrico Fermi's purported comment when he observed the neutron cross section for boron—"My God! It's as big as the side of a barn!"—not only gave a name to the unit of cross section (barns), it also put and end to thoughts of using uranium borohydride for the diffusion process.
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